Grantwood Village may add more siding choices to its city code after the Board of Trustees discussed a possible change April 19.

Currently the village only allows brick, stone or stucco exterior with siding allowed on roof-ends. The change, proposed by Building Commissioner Kurt Voss, would add “fibrous cement/hardie board” siding to new second stories. 

“It just allows the architect to have a little bit more ability to add some textures, colors and designs to the structure,” Voss said. “This is only for building a second story where a second story does not exist.”

Chairman Kevin Kelso said he doesn’t see a reason to change and he would even be open to removing stucco siding from the existing ordinance. Voss said the change would add more texture to the village so there are less “great big brick” walls and houses throughout. 

Public Works Commissioner Mark Kienstra said he would reach out to a Washington University architecture professor for more information for the board, but in the meantime he wasn’t sure the change would be fair to residents who have made brick and stone additions in the past.

“We’ve got a commitment that we’ve made to previous residents who have invested big money in this and I’m struggling with how we do this right,” Kienstra said.

The board tabled the matter for its May meeting, which will be its first in-person meeting in years. The meeting will be at the Grantwood Village Town Hall, 1 Missionary Ridge, at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month, May 17.